


don't call me kid, don't call me baby

by AstrologicalGem



Series: "hey, kid" [1]
Category: Snowpiercer (TV 2020)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Gen, Hallucinations, Implied Relationships, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Multi, Post-Canon, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-15 18:47:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29812812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AstrologicalGem/pseuds/AstrologicalGem
Summary: "Hey, kid."
Relationships: Alexandra Cavill & Melanie Cavill, Melanie Cavill & Javier "Javi" de La Torre & Bennett Knox, Melanie Cavill & Wilford, Melanie Cavill/Bennett Knox
Series: "hey, kid" [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2201496
Comments: 4
Kudos: 21





	don't call me kid, don't call me baby

**Author's Note:**

> Big TW for implied self harm/suicide attempt

"Hey, kid." 

Melanie looks up as Wilford walks into the room. Her room, now, she figures. It had been a few days since she had moved in with the older man, and her room was set up decently, she thought. He had paid for a decorator, despite Melanie's insistence, and now her room looked like it belonged in some magazine-it felt like it belonged in a magazine. She's sitting in the armchair in the corner, and he sits down at the desk nearby. 

"Hi." She puts her book down, looking up at him. "Is everything alright, sir?"

"What did I tell you, Mel?" He rests his hand on her shoulder.

"I should just call you Joseph...I'm sorry. Old habits, you know." She laughs awkwardly, and shrugs. He laughs with her, and then the silence is deafening.

"How are you settling in?" He asks, a few moments later.

“I’m alright. It’s quiet here, I like it...” She looks out the window, out onto the street.

“Good. Very good.” He gets up from the chair, and outstretches his hand to her, which she takes. “Come on. Time for dinner.” She follows him downstairs to the dining room, and takes her place across the table from him.

Melanie’s only been there a few days, and already she knows that this is her path. She had dreamed it, sure, but having it in reality? Now, that was something else.

———

“Hey, kid.” Wilford stands in the doorway of her lab, and Melanie glances over at him before looking back at her newest project.

“Hey. Can you grab my blue hairtie, the one on my desk? I would’ve worn it had I known how fucking messy this was going to get...” she mumbles the last part, and he nods, walking over to her desk. He takes the hairtie from her desk, and walks over to her. She nods silently, and he takes her hair, putting it up in a low ponytail.

"Better?" Melanie nods. "Good." He places a hand on the small of her back, looking over her shoulder. "What happened?"

"Oil canister exploded. Whichever tech had this last night didn't seal it correctly, and now it's my problem..." she mumbles. "Wrench, please?" 

He nods, and hands her the wrench on the table. She takes it, and seals the canister, tightening the bolt. She sighs, and then removes her hand from the canister, heading over to the sink. "I think that next time this happens I'm going to get one of them to fix it, incompetent assholes..."

"Y'know, we could always hire another engineer..." He says casually, quietly.

Melanie sighs. "You know I manage all of this on my own." 

"Melanie." 

"Yes, Joseph?" She turns around to look at him, staring him down. 

"Just let me help you." He walks over to her at the sink, and places his hand on her cheek. She flinches at first, before relaxing.

"I'm alright, really."

\---

"Hey, kid." He comes into the kitchen one morning, when Melanie's drinking tea. "Did you sleep at all last night?"

She shakes her head, and looks out the window. "Nope." She places her free hand over her pregnant stomach. "She was kicking all night, I was half tempted to ask what, exactly, I had done to her to deserve that..." 

Wilford laughs, and shakes his head. "It'll be worth it when she's here, you know."

Mel smiles, and looks over at him. "Mhm. Our perfect little Balakrishna." She rubs her hand over her stomach. "You're not gonna talk me out of that, by the way." 

He shakes his head. "I still can't believe any sane person would want to name a child Balakrishna." She laughs, and shrugs. 

"It's a pretty name. Besides, it's not like you've offered any suggestions." 

"I already told you." He pours coffee into a mug. "Alexandra is a wonderful name for a little girl."

"Alexandra is the name of the stuffy old aunt in To Kill A Mockingbird." 

"A wonderful name for a little girl."

Melanie rolls her eyes. "Balakrishna is also a pretty name, it's a good name for a girl as well."

"How would a child even pronounce Balakrishna?" He raises an eyebrow.

"The same way a child would learn to pronounce Alexandra." She smirks. "C'mon, we can decide on a name once we've met her. But she feels like a Balakrishna."

\---

"Hey, kid." Joseph walks into the room where she's reading, and Melanie looks up.

"Hi..." she looks down into her book again, trying to fight the tears brimming at her eyes. 

"So it's just us again." He sits down next to her, places his hand on her thigh.

"Yep." She pops her 'p', at the end of the sentence, continuing to read.

"I was thinking..." He runs his hand up her thigh, stopping at her hip. "We could do something fun tonight."

"I'm not in the mood." She closes her book, continuing to look down. 

"It doesn't have to be that, Mel." He moves his hand off of her hip. "Look at me." He grips her chin, turning her head to look at him. "You don't need to cry. Allie is with her grandparents, she's better off there than she is here." She looks down, tears threatening to fall from her eyes. "Come on, dear. I'll run you a bath, you'll feel better when you're washed and in bed." She nods, and he takes her hand, pulling her up. 

He runs a bath, and she strips quietly, hands crossed over her chest. She gets in first, and then he follows her. They're quiet for a while, just letting the water run. 

Melanie wakes up the next morning alone, in the hospital. 

\----

"Hey, kid. And other engineers." Wilford says as he walls into the Engine, watching Melanie strap the materials to the ceiling. Ben's holding the ladder, and Javi's setting up the computers.

"Hey." Mel nods, attaching the hook to the wall. 

"How is everything going up here?"

Javi answers quickly. "It's running smoothly, everything's working..."

"Oh, good. We have a meeting with the investors tomorrow, Melanie, we need to be able to give them an update."

"Will do." Mel looks down. "Ben, can you pass me the screwdriver?"

"Yep." He hands her the screwdriver off of the table, and she grabs it, screwing in the hook.

"Well, if everything's going well here..."

\---

"And she has awoken." Wilford smiles as Melanie opens her eyes, and she grimaces. "Hey, kid." 

"What did I tell you? Stop talking." She gets up, heads in the direction of the computer room.

"No, I don't think I will. You and I have quite a lot to catch up on, though..."

\---

"Hey, kid." Wilford breathes out. "You're alive."

"Yeah, I am. Thanks for the help on that, by the way." She pushes past him at the cold lock, walks towards Layton. "Hey. How'd you hold up while I was gone?"

Layton smiles, and shrugs. "We were alright. Come on, I know a few people in the Engine that really wanna see you." He wraps his arm around her shoulders, and Melanie smiles, letting herself lean into him. The two walk away. When Melanie gets back to the Engine, it's practically a race to see who gets to her first. Ben and Alex both rush to hug her, Javi and Layton standing off towards the side. When Alex lets go, Ben pulls Mel into a kiss, and she smiles deeply. 

It's a good night, that night. Melanie is back, and they think that now, it'll stick forever.

**Author's Note:**

> Uhhh yeah I have lots of emotions come yell at me @onetrainsnowpiercer


End file.
